Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 20 December 2021

::National::

Yogi Adityanath invokes ESMA, bans strikes in UP for 6 months

The Yogi Adityanath government has banned strikes across the states for six months. A notification was issued by additional chief secretary Dr Devesh Kumar Chaturvedi on Sunday, Hindustan Times’ sister publication Live hindustan reported.
It states that the strike is being banned in any public service, corporations and local authorities which deal with the state affairs of Uttar Pradesh, Livehindustan further reported.
Those who defy the orders will face legal action, the notification has warned.
Earlier in May, the Uttar Pradesh government had banned strikes for six months by invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act or ESMA. The decision was taken because of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
The ESMA Act empowers a state government to take action against employees who are on strike or refusing to work on essential services which are important for maintaining normal life. It gives state police power to arrest anyone without any warrant if they are found to be violating its provision.
The act has a provision of mandatory imprisonment, which may extent to one year, or a fine of ₹1,000 or both.
The Uttar Pradesh government had invoked ESMA in May last year, and the order banning strikes was extended again for six months in November, 2020.
Uttar Pradesh recorded 23 fresh cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, which pushed the number of active Covid cases under treatment to 196.

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::International::

Pentagon documents reveal 'deeply flawed' US air war: Report

Newly obtained Pentagon documents show that the US air wars in the Middle East have been marked by "deeply flawed intelligence" and resulted in thousands of civilian deaths, including many children, the New York Times reported.
It said a trove of confidential documents covering more than 1,300 reports of civilian casualties undercuts the government's portrayal of a war fought with precision bombs.
Pledges of transparency and accountability, it said, had regularly fallen short.
"Not a single record provided includes a finding of wrongdoing or disciplinary action," the paper reported in what it said was the first of a two-part series.
While several of the cases mentioned by the Times have been previously reported, it said its investigation showed that the number of civilian deaths had been "drastically undercounted," by at least several hundred.
Among three cases cited was a July 19, 2016 bombing by US Special Forces of what were believed to be three Islamic State group staging areas in northern Syria. Initial reports were of 85 fighters killed. Instead, the dead were 120 farmers and other villagers.
Poor or inadequate surveillance footage often contributed to deadly targeting failures, the report said.
More recently, the United States had to retract its claim that a vehicle destroyed by a drone on a Kabul street in August had contained bombs. Victims of the strike, it turned out, were 10 members of a family, including children.
Many civilian survivors of US attacks, the report says, were left with disabilities requiring expensive treatment, but condolence payments numbered fewer than a dozen.
Asked for comment, Captain Bill Urban, spokesman for the US Central Command, told the Times that "even with the best technology in the world, mistakes do happen, whether based on incomplete information or misinterpretation of the information available. And we try to learn from those mistakes.

::Economy::

RBI imposes penalty on PNB and ICICI Bank

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on December 15 imposed a monetary penalty on ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB) citing certain rule violations.
The RBI imposed a penalty of Rs 30 lakh on ICICI Bank and Rs 1.8 crore on PNB, the RBI said in a press release.
The RBI imposed the penalty on ICICI Bank for violation of rules related to ‘levy of penal charges on non-maintenance of minimum balances in savings bank accounts’.
The RBI inspections revealed non-compliance with the directions to the extent the bank levied charges for non-maintenance of minimum balance in saving accounts, which were not directly proportionate to the extent of the shortfall observed, the RBI said.
Later, the RBI came to the conclusion that the non-compliance with RBI directions warranted imposition of monetary penalty.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) suspends Amazon's 2019 deal with Future

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Friday suspended the US retail giant Amazon’s 2019 deal with Future Retail (FRL) for its deliberate design to suppress information about the scope and purpose of the deal.
In its 57-page order, the competition watchdog said it considered necessary to examine the combination afresh, given that the two players were known in the online marketplace and offline retailing and had contemplated strategic alignment between their businesses.
The antitrust regulator has imposed a penalty of Rs 200 crore on Amazon to be paid within 60 days of receipt of order.
The commission said in its order that Amazon ought to have notified the combination for the commercial agreements with Future Group, for the purpose of establishing strategic alignment and partnership between Amazon Group and FRL, as well as have a ‘foot-in-the-door’ in India's retail sector.
It said Amazon made false and incorrect statements, while seeking approvals.
Legal experts like Salman Waris, managing partner at technology law firm TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors, who analysed the CCI order, said the regulator's unprecedented decision is a huge setback for Amazon and could have far-reaching implications - for not only Amazon, but for the Indian market on the whole.

::Science and tech::

James Webb Space Telescope set for Christmas Eve launch

Nasa will launch its newest James Webb Space Telescope, which is considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, on Christmas Eve.
Bill Nelson, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, said on Friday that the James Webb Space Telescope will attempt to blast off on December 24. A European Ariane rocket will provide the lift from South America's French Guiana scheduled for 7:20am EST.
Nelson told The Associated Press he expects a smaller crowd at the launch site because of the holidays. “Since it's Christmas Eve, all the congressional delegations that were going down, all of that has evaporated,” he told AP.
Nasa says the $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope will “solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.”
Webb was supposed to soar Saturday, but could not as it was jolted by a clamp during launch preparations, resulting in a four-day delay. After that, a bad communication link on the rocket had to be fixed, postponing the launch another two days.
US and European space officials signed off Friday on the launch date, following one last round of testing.

::Sport::

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurates Khelo India Women's Hockey League

Anurag Singh Thakur is the Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports. He inaugurated the first-ever national-level Khelo India Women's Hockey League (Under 21) at Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The hockey tournament is slated to be held from December 15 to 21. As many as 14 teams will be competing in 42 matches during the first phase of the tournament. Meanwhile, the second and third phase will be held in early 2022.
The Women's Hockey League will give away the winners a cash prize of ₹30 lakh -₹15 lakh from MYAS and ₹15 lakh from Hockey India.
Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports NishithPramanik and the Indian Olympic Association President NarendraBatra were also present at the event.